Inside The North: Bears are in a rhythm, Lions & Packers are set for a showdown
00:00And now it's time for Inside the North, presented by five-hour energy,a show dedicated to the team you love and the teams you love to hate.In the legendary black and blue division, starring former Chicago head coach Dave Wanstead.I don't care if it's Caleb Williams, who is it quarterback?If we're not running the ball and throwing those play action passes,we are not a drop-back team, in my opinion.Former Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby, running a flea-flake.or scream to Tucker Kraft inside your own 10-yard line to start that game.
00:34I mean, that was diabolical, and I'm here for all of that.Minnesota legend, Chad Greenway.There's been teams that have looked a heck a lot better than the Vikings have.But winning with defense, there's been several teams over the course of the NFL historythat have won with defense and special teams.Former Detroit lineman T.J. Lang.The Dan Campbell attitude where you're 4-4-4 on 4th down, you're being aggressive,you're not settling for field goals.
00:56You're telling your guys, go out there and win.And now, here's your hope.from the score in Chicago, David Haw.Welcome back to Inside the North,the weekly show looking at the NFL's best division.Brought to you by five-hour energy.I'm David Haw from the score in Chicago,joined by as I am every week.
01:16Dave Wonstadt on the Bears,T.J. Lang on the Lions,Mason Crosby, on the Packers,and Chad Greenway on the Vikings.Before we get into every team's big issue of the week,thought we would start with Thursday night football.The Bears make a statement, beat the Patriots.It was their second victory in five days.
01:37They get right back into the NFC North Race.They feel very good about the state of affairs.Let's just go around the horn and get your reaction to what we saw,Kayla Williams, Drake May, a great shootout among two young quarterbacks.Let's start with Dave Wonstadt because I know you were there.I saw you tailgate and Dave.I know you were out there with the brats and a cigar mingling with fans.what did you take away from the Bears victory Thursday night?
02:01God, I had a lamb chop that melted in my – oh, no.I – tailgates.It's my second tailgate in my life.I'll tell you, I'm kind of enjoying it.But anyway, it was as good of quarterback play with two guys, you know,on the same field at the same night is what I can remember in a couple of years, honestly.I mean, not that these guys, you know, threw the ball well, but they avoided pressure.And I made the comment, you know, this morning to talking to some people that Caleb Williams,
02:37that is, I was on the team, obviously coaching with Dan Marino.And Marino always had that feel, the great ones do, that they don't know, they don't have to see the pressure coming.But they can feel it and they can move up.they can move right, left, whatever way to avoid it, just so they can get the ball thrown.And I saw, and that's not coachable.Coaches will say it is, but it's not.And I saw both quarterbacks last night avoiding pressure and still making accurate throwsand getting the ball out to the right people.
03:15And Drake May had the one interception, but he was throwing to the right guy.He just kind of under through that tight end, just a half of.foot and it got picked but um no i i was impressed with that you know people want to talk about theNFL and where's all the quarterback play all you got to do is watch that game and i and i thought itwas outstanding mason crosbie that looked like a different bears team that lost to the packers they'renow playing in all phases two victories in a row since that point you look around the divisionthere's not really a weak team right now but the bears have undergone a metamorphosis since leavingin Green Bay. It might have woke them up.
03:55Yeah, yeah, they might have,we might have woken asleep and giant there with,with that win in Lambo.Obviously, these last two games,you can't discount going to Atlanta,then beating a good Patriots team coming into,into Chicago.Caleb Williams, he came off that hamstring injury,
04:12and he's looking to be a more efficient passer somehow.Maybe it's,maybe he's a little limited in some of his mobility stuff.So he's being just a little more efficient with how he's,he's dishing that ball around.And then, you know, my guys, Cairo Santos, hits a 58-yarder.I was surprised.Honestly, I was pretty surprised when they threw them out there.
04:32But, you know, that's the job.You go out there.Ben Johnson, you know, had faith that if they knocked that through,they win this game with kind of how it was with how the Patriots were playing.It looked like, you know, they were on that comeback trail.So give Cairo a lot of credit for hitting a 58-yarder.or when, you know, he had missed a long one earlier.He had never hit a kick longer than that in his career or that long in his career.
04:58But, you know, that's kind of how the NFL is now, right?It's, hey, when you have that moment, you have that situation,you got to have the guys and the people in place to go out there and get the job done.And, yeah, the bears are rolling right now.It is wild to think that the NFC North and the AFC North,first time in the NFL that all four teams in each division have winning records.I mean, there's some good ball being played in the NFC Norris right in the hunt.And I wouldn't be surprised at the end of this year if we don't have, I mean,
05:28we're going to have three teams in the playoffs, but maybe all four teams.Everything's coming up bears, Chad Greenway.How impressed have you been at what they were being able to turn things around here?Yeah, I think it's interesting.You brought it up, right?I mean, the green, they go to Green Bay and kind of get smacked around, didn't play the style offootball that they had been playing.Obviously, you deal with an injury at the quarterback position.
05:49And now you almost like get this, I don't know, maybe your best player back, like a few games in this season.He comes back actually playing even better.And you get two wins in five days, which I'm telling you in those locker rooms, when you can go back to back like that, you feel really good.You get a mini-buye coming now.You can get a little bit healthier.Let's be honest, guys.I mean, we know how good the Bears were supposed to be.They look scary good right now.
06:12And I'm, you know, Vikings are sitting here 5 and O, and we look like we're the worst team in the division right now.Of course, you haven't played a game in a week.But what you look at is, and we'll talk about this coming up, is just schedule, is you look at who has what left and what that's getting, and how that's going to lay out and play out.My Vikings better good this win against the Colts this week, because this can be, it's the last easy one on the schedule.And this division is just impossible.I'm really curious to see this Packer Lions game.I think it's going to tell a really good story about this division, how it's going to play out.But, no, I mean, all credit to the Bears, man.
06:47I mean, they're staying with the run game.30 touches over 115 yards, but they threw the ball better.Obviously, they've proven to be a really, really physical front on both sides of the ball,and their defense is playing pretty well.And T.J. Lang, the underrated aspect of this Bears approach is that the defense gets a lot of credit,but the offense controlling the football with that offensive line, the Patriots ran 50 plays.It's the keepaway game.That offensive line allows them to control the ball and to keep the defense.
07:17defense on the sideline rested.Yeah, I think Chicago, I think they're on a historic rate right now when it comes tocontrolling the time of possession through, you know, six, seven weeks, whatever it is now.It's been incredible.And that's Ben Johnson football, man.We got to run the football.Let's get the play action game.Let's keep the sticks moving.
07:37Let's convert on third downs.That's how we're able to score points.That's how we're able to not let the other team get into a rhythm.And I think that you saw that last night was Chicago as well.And I do have to disagree with coach a little bit.I think that some of these young quarterbacks are still making too many simple mistakes.And going back to Caleb took a bad sack there in the second half that kind of hindered them from stealing that game.But even I go back to Drake May and early in that game, they go for it on a fourth down and just throw the ball up.
08:06Give your guy a chance to make a play and he just takes a sack on fourth down.It's like it's going to be a turnover no matter what, whether you throw the ball 40 yards.And worst case, it could be an arm punt, right?if they pick it off.But still, Ben Johnson, I think the best thing that he did,knowing that he's such an offensive-minded coach,and he's sitting in, when you break the team meeting,and you split up offense, defense.
08:30Ben Johnson's sitting with the offense.So what do I need?I need a veteran defensive coordinator that's been around the league forever,and that's Dennis Allen.I need a guy that I can trust to run that side of that unitthat I don't have to necessarily put in, you know,even 50% of my timeand because I know he can do it.
08:48And Dennis Allen has just been finding waysschematically to confuse quarterbacks.And he did that again last night againstDrake May with some of thosepressures that he was bringing.And I think that was, obviously,it's been proven to be a great hire.And the bears have been certainly,
09:04they've been impressive, man.You look at this division right now.I don't know if the magic number is 12.It might be 13, what it takes to,to win this division. And like, I think Chad said, or like Mason said, I mean, I think thateverybody at the beginning of the season thought maybe the NFC West with San Fran, Seattle, L.A.You know, those teams never going to lose a game. A couple of those teams are kind of reeling right now.Maybe the NFC North is the team that gets three teams in. Maybe all these teams like they did last
09:37year finish again above 500. But the bears, I think, are certainly setting the pace to keep up withthe Vikings, who like Chad said, are undefeated, still not playing their best ball.But man, I think every team in this division is probably feeling we got to keep up.We got to win.We just got to find ways to keep winning.That's what the Bears did on Thursday night.All right.Let's go around the horn now with the biggest issue for every team this week.
10:04Let's start with Mason Crosby up in Green Bay.Mason, is it the talk about the defense that leads a league and takeaway somehow?No one expected that.I don't think is the return of Josh Jacobs and maybe the running game that has been absent.What are people talking about with the Packers this week?Yeah, I think the big thing there is probably the run game on both sides of the ball right now.So going into this Lions game, some bad, bad news for this Packers defense, losing Zaire Franklin in this game.I saw, you know, he got some weird shin injury, a bone bruise to his shin, and he's going to be out against.
10:43this Lions team with Jemir Gibbs and this rush attack and the ways that they can stretch yourdefense, not having that leader, that guy in the in the middle of that defense to shore thatup. Zaire Franklin's going to be missed. And I don't know if that's why I was looking theline to this game was at minus one and a half for the Lions and it moved to minus three justhere recently. And it could have honestly been as simple something like that. You don't have thatyou know, that veteran good linebacker stopping one of the best players on the other team.But on the other side of the ball, run game, Packers, Josh Jacobs is looking like he's going to play in this game,look like they activated him up and we're going to see.
11:27Can he go a full complement of snaps?Can he run the ball 15, 20 times?I don't know.None of us know, but time will tell.If he goes out there and he finds his, you know, the way he does it, where he just burrows them,behind that offensive line in five,and five, six yards.And they can control the clock
11:47against this lion's team. That is going tobe the Packers' best recipe forsuccess to go into Detroit and wingames. That place is hard to play.It's hard to go in there. It's hard todeal with, gosh, yeah,TJ, it's a freaking dungeon.I mean, you're below ground. It's like, it's a cave.
12:05Concrete jungle, man. It is.Yeah, it's wild in there. So you got to goin, you got to control the clock. You got to try tothat lion's explosive offense off the field as much as possible.We talked about this a few times.It's like sometimes the best defense is a really good controlling offense.You just, you go out there, you control the clock, you run the ball,and you find a way to keep that offense off the field.
12:26So, you know, the run game is going to be the big question this week.Can the Packers get that run game going with Josh Jacobs?And can they stop the run with Jemir Gibbs without Zaire Franklin out there?Let's go to T.J.TJ, as the Lions prepare for that game, you look at Dan Campbell, little distracted, snapped at a reporter on Friday because Sam Leporta went public with some concerns about his contract and now there's a mini controversy.What's going on in Detroit?Yeah, I think there was a little bit of distraction.Anytime you come off a by week, there's not a ton of things going on to talk about.
13:03Sam Lipporta.I mean, it's a time for guys to take, you know, a week off and maybe venture out.We all know the world we live in today is completely different than when Mason and Chad and I played.And even when coach was coaching, like, you could keep a lot things in house a lot tighter.Nowadays, everybody hears everything.There's so many podcasts.There's so many shows that guys want to do.They want to get their name out there and expand, you know, the personality a little bit.
13:32Sam LaPorte, I think, got caught up in, you know, being in a comfortable setting.And I love those guys.I know, I know Dan, you know, PFT that do the, do the PMT podcast, which is number one in the, you know, world forever now, you know, sports podcast.Sam got a little comfortable.And he said some things that I would imagine, hey, I probably shouldn't have said that.You know, that's one that you wake up the next morning.You're like, I didn't expect that to make headlines, but it did.Oh, boy, right?
14:00And now we got something to talk about because we're coming off a biweek.There's nothing else to talk about.But I would say this.I think that from the player's perspective, if you're Sam Laporta,and you've seen the way that the Lions have treated a lot of their homegrown talent,meaning guys that they've drafted and signed to extensions before they're allowed to hit free agency,hey, you know, it's my turn now, right?Like, you know, where's my cheddar at, right?
14:23But this is just the kind of way that the Lions have operated with guys coming off of injury.And when I go back to it last year, Aidan Hutchinson didn't sign his deal until almost November.He was coming off of a pretty gruesome leg injury.The Lions wanted to see him play six, seven games, prove that you can be healthy,prove that this isn't going to be an issue.Sam Laporte is coming off of a back injury and surgery from last year.Those can be serious things.So I don't blame either side of them.
14:53I think Sam probably let the emotions get the best of them.But the bottom line is, and I think Chad and Mason could probably talk to this the best.Guys in the locker room don't care, right?It's just about how can you help us win?Is this guy busting his ass in meetings?Is he busts his ass in practice?Is he busting his ass in games?Is he doing what he needs to do to help us win?
15:13Or is this starting to become a distraction on the field?Nobody has seen any evidence of Sam Laporta's production drop off on game date.And that's the only thing that their teammates care about.So I don't think it's a distraction.I think it's kind of been overblown just because you're coming off a bye week.But if I'm Sam Laporta, you probably wake up the next day.you probably have a ton of tax.You probably have a ton of notifications on whatever social media app you're on
15:37and just saying, oh boy, okay, you know, probably shouldn't have said that.But at the same time, you don't want to give the team any leverage either, right?Hey, if they don't want to pay me, I'll go play somewhere else.Because if you're saying, I got in trouble for my agent, you know, saying, hey,I just want to stay with Green Bay and I'm going to do anything to play with Green Bay.Okay, well, we're not going to offer you as much money then because we just know you're going to stay here.It can get you in trouble on the flip side, too.So I think it's going to be overblown.
15:59And the best thing that Sam LaPorte and this team can do this weekend is just go outThey continue to produce, continue to show your teammates, continue to show your coaches, you know, that you're dedicated, at least, you know, right now to helping this team win.So that's the only thing that could help.Chad Greenway up in Minnesota, how much of a distraction is that they're undefeated?They haven't done.Do they have anything that they're worried about getting in the way of their focus as they get ready to kind of rebound and get back at it after a by week?Yeah, I always want to touch on that LePort a bit quick.I mean, I think coming off a by, I mean, T.J. nailed that.
16:32I mean, he's a Hawkeye brother of mine.You know, he does things the right way.He's a grinder.He's a worker.And you guys all know, like, that locker room knows who he is.That locker room knows they can trust him.That locker room knows he's going to put the work in.He's going to go compete on Sundays.
16:46So it's not really, to me, like a locker room bit.Everybody's been in that situation with the contract.I think you're right, though.He got a little comfortable in that conversation.He said some things.And I think it's a leverage play.No doubt about it.I mean, in some ways, it was really smart.
17:00but it's maybe out of character is why it was so surprising.And of course, like you said, DJ, get that news cycle going, get that Bears game on,you know, get moving on in the news cycle so then that thing gets buried on the fresh stuffit's coming out.That's a fun one.But listen, by weeks, buy weeks to me have always been a challenge.And that's what is my number one concern with this Vikings team is I don't think whenyou can look back at the start of this season, being 5 and 0 is not what we are.
17:28I mean, that's our record.but I think we can all attest has been watching the NFC North really closelyis the Vikings have not been that impressive and a lot of factors in the game.Defensively, we've been playing incredibly well.We all know about the blitz rate.The self-scout this last week and a half over the biweek is going to be just absolutely crucialto prepare for what's coming at them because they know they're going to,people are going to start to have answers for this blitz package.
17:51People are going to start to have answers to attack Kyler Murray,now that he's gotten a little bit more comfortable in the system.So to me, it's like, what did you do with your biweek and how prepared are you?From a player standpoint, you can easily fall in the trap of being, you know what,or five and old things are good.We're going to come out against Indy at home and lay an egg.Unfortunately, I can see that happening.I don't want that to happen.
18:12I hope it doesn't happen.But you guys know that have been in this game is like you can lose that edge, that grind edge you get by playing week after week after week.Coming back with no one.But you know what Coach OC is saying?He's like, look at this schedule and how it's going.We got to take one at a time.Just keep chipping.whipping away, keep gaining wins.
18:29So my hope is that they're focused.My hope is they're locked in.Jordan Mason, hopefully healthy this week coming off the IR.It looks like he may have a shot to play,which would be huge for a run game,take some reps off Aaron Jones and some pressure off of Kyla Murray.And just to elaborate on how the bears have controlled the ball so much,is Caleb Williams' ability to extend drives, extend with his feet,
18:51that's no different than when the offense started to look betterthese last six quarters is because Kyler was able to usehis feet to extend drives, to keep that defense fresh with their ears pinned back. And this Vikingsdefense with the lead allowed to blitz and throw some pressure. Like, man, I mean, that's a goodrecipe for us. But very curious on our posture coming out of the buy with our energy and what we'regoing to look like. Dave, Juan said a couple minutes left. The Bears have a mini buy after the Thursdaynight game. They also got some bad news. Colcomette out for the season with a torn ACL. If you're Ben Johnson,and you feel good about five and two,
19:28but how big of a loss could Colcomette be?Yeah, Colquette's going to be a loss.Maybe as much for the non-on-the-field football stuff as off the field.I mean, he's been there seven years.He's a leader.This football team books up to him.He's always the first guy to stand up and talk good, bad, or indifferent,and support everybody.
19:50So, you know, they did draft as Sam Roush, third round, I believe was,third or fourth round, a tight end out of Stanford.So he'll fill in and he'll be the second tight end.But, you know, Ben will make adjustments.There's no question about that.To me, the biggest issue is, you know, right now the bears are second in the NFL withblitz ratio.And, you know, we've got, you know, we've got a rookie at safety.
20:22We've got a rookie at corner, you know.Jaylen Johnson, the other corner,who's, you know, everyone thinks he's pro-bow player.He's not playing like a pro-bow player.So my point is that Dennis Allen's doing what he likes to do.He always was a little on the Blitz side, yes,but I think he's doing it more than he really would like to.And it's mainly because we don't have a dominant pass rusher.
20:47So if you ask me what need the bears would have,and as good as they're playing right now,If there would be a pass rusher that would be on the trading block,I would tell Ben Johnson, go get him.Go get him.He'll make an impact on this team.We signed Charles Haley a week before our opener.We got him out of, when they threw him out of San Francisco,
21:10and we signed him, and he was the difference in us winning that first Super Bowl at the Cowboys.When we return on Inside the North, we'll take a look at the week seven schedule.You're listening to Inside the North.to buy five-hour energy.Everybody knows that one guy with no filter.But thanks to the brand oil and filter sale,you don't need to be that guy.Get 15% off filters and 10% off oil
21:41from John Deere and Valparto ensure you're ready for the season ahead.No filter, no excuse.Visit your local brand dealer today to stock up and save.We now return to,Inside the North, presented by Five Hour Energy,featuring Dave Wonstet, Mason Crosby, Chad Greenway, and T.J. Lang,and here's your host, David Haw.
22:10Welcome back to Inside the North, brought to you by Five Hour Energy.I'm David Haw from the score in Chicago.Let's take a look at the week seven matchups, the big game in the division, of course.Lions Packers, this is the big one we have been waiting for.The Packers are red hot.the Lions dealing with some distractions as we talked about.Mason Crosby, when you look at Green Bay against Detroit,some people look at the obvious advantage they would have in the downfield passing game.
22:39Matthew Golden and Christian Watson, they could exploit a lion's secondary.Brian Branch comes back.You wonder what kind of condition he will be in.What's the view of this game from Green Bay and how do the Packers beat the Lions?Yeah, like I said before, I mean, going into.Detroit is never an easy task. I mean, even when those teams were reeling, not playing their bestball years ago, it was always tough going into Detroit and getting, you know, getting a qualityvictory. So it's, it's tough. It's, you know, you sometimes have to win ugly in there. So like I said,
23:15I think the biggest thing for this Green Bay team is to keep that the Detroit pass rush off of JordanLove as much as possible. I saw Matt LaFleur talking this week that,Jordan's, you know, body was a little beat up from the last, you know, a couple of weeks.It looked like you got and took some hits there against the Cowboys.And it was getting a little, you know, getting a little extra treatment this week.So trying to keep Aden Hutchinson at Bay, trying to keep this Detroit pass rush at bay so that is that Jordan,or is that Josh Jacobs coming back and running the ball?Or is it just getting into that play action game like they've done so effectively these last two weeks
23:52to be able to get Matthew Golden and Christian Watson started early and often.getting big receptions downfield.If they can stretch this defense out early,I think that's going to obviously help this Packers teamget to where they want to go.But controlling that clock in Detroit,keeping that lion's offense off the fieldhas to be priority number one.
24:14If you can do that,I look at this.I thought Cowboys and Dallas's offense was going to come into Green Bayand it was going to be a shootout.But Green Bay's defense was able to kind ofslow them down and not let them have a ton of explosives.And that has to be a similar plan against this Lions team.I do think the Lions offense has a better sequence and, you know,
24:38kind of a better all around, you know, way and style of play than that Cowboys team did.But again, if you can get up on this team, if you can kind of keep them at bay,control that clock, you know, the Packers can go in there and find a win against a,you know, a dangerous Lions team, especially offensively.then you mentioned Brian Branch.That will be a spark for that Detroit defense,him coming back on that back end,trying to shore up that secondary that has had so many issues.
25:08For me, I'm just,I'm hoping Matt LaFleur just leans into that play action pass game,just gets into it early and often,gets Josh Jacob some touches,but not try to wear him out throughout that game.If our offensive line can hold up against this pass rush,I see the Packers being able to try,to put up, you know, high 20s, low 30s and points.
25:29And if they can keep that, that Lions team at bay, you know, this could end up being ashootout, but, you know, that's, I don't think that's where the Packers want to go with thislion's team for sure.They want to try to, try to end this thing before, before that fourth quarter gets going.T.J. Lang, I know there's a lot of excitement about Brian Branch making his debutsince his Achilles tear last December, but also they're getting centerback.Cade Bayes, and he making his debut.So that gives a little stability on the offensive line.
25:57How is Detroit viewing this challenge against the Packers?Yeah, well, you never take any division rival lightly.It doesn't matter what the records are.I know it's early in the season.The Packers already have a couple division games.Same with, you know, really everybody else in the division.This is the first one for the Lions.So this is really where you feel like the season starts
26:15because these games count the old cliche one and a half, right?These are the games you look back on.I know it's only, you know, end of October,but when you get into December, January football, you look back at this one and say,either way, that flipped our season, right?Win or loss.And they just mean more.I think with the Lions, they're going to be rejuvenated, like Mason said, getting some guys back.
26:38Brian Branch and that back end who is, their secondary is taking a beating.And deservedly so.I mean, they've allowed, you know, the most passing yards, I think through five games in the history of NFL and a lot of touchdowns.But, you know, you get Brian Branch back, who's an all.pro type safety, he should be able to give you that boost. Same with the center, Cade Mays.I don't know if that's going to give you the same boost as bringing to Brian Branch back,because Drew Scruggs, who filled in at center was playing really good football for thislion's front. So there's going to be some, you know, probably some, some chemistry that the
27:12offensive line is going to have to build. But I'll tell you what, my biggest, my biggest point is,this team's got to start faster. They just have to start faster. Their first quartersoffensively have just not been good enough. You look at the Arizona.own a game. I know the final score. If you just look at the box score, it looked like they,you know, beat the hell out of the Cardinals. That wasn't the case in the first half.They had to grind it out. I think they went three and out three straight times to start thatgame. And I think they've only scored 10 points in the first quarter through five games this season.So they're going to have to start fast against this Green Bay team, which Mason said on the flip side,
27:46if you're the Packers, hey, let's try to, you know, build an early lead. That's always the key.division games always come down to very simple things and I hate to be cliche about it but it comes down towho controls the line of scrimmage who can run the football who can protect the quarterback who can take care of the footballand then who can be good situationally and who can be better on third down who can be better in the red zonebecause that's what this lion's team finally got back to starting to build an identity against the cardinalswhich four for four on fourth down we're punching it in for touchdowns we're not settling for fieldgoals. That was kind of their identity going in, uh, coming out of that Arizona game. My big worry,like Chad said, was you're coming off a by week. You're coming off a major high off that Arizona game.
28:33Everybody was counting us out. Everybody was doubting us. And now you got to take, you know,14 days off before you, you go play a division opponent. But, um, I just look at this is going to be atough game. I think it's really probably a race to 30. And I know,that I say that with respectto the Packers' defense because I'veknown they held the Cowboysto 13 points. They held the Bearsto 7 points.
29:01You know, they beat Tampa Bay. They heldthe 14 points. But theif you're the Lions and you're looking at thisGreen Bay defense, you're saying no MichaelParsons, no Javan Hargrave,no Edger and Cooper, no ZaireFranklin, we have to be ableto run the football. We have to be able
29:16to control the line of scrimmage, runthe football, get Jared Gough into those positions,in the play action pass on some of those second and shorts where he can hit some of those big shots down the field.And they got to get Jameson Williams going too.Jameson Williams is such an explosive playmaker.I saw a stat today that he only has 20 yards after the catch this year.That's incredible for me with the guy with the speed that he has.Throw him some quick screens.
29:43Get the ball in his hands fast.You don't always have to be a downfield fade or deep post runner.Get the ball on his hands and let him.him run, I think they're going to try to utilize that a little bit more. But it'll be interestingto see the amount of self-scout that they did coming out of the by week, because that's whatyou mostly do during the by week. You look at yourself, what are we doing right? What are we doingwrong? What can we fix? How can we get our guys in better positions to make plays? Certainly,division games can always go wacky. We saw it last week with the Cardinals, beaten the Rams, right? But I think
30:15it's going to be, I really think it's going to be a race to 30. And there should be a lot of offensivethe play plays made in this game.Chad Greenway, the Vikings, welcome the Colts, two and four.The Colts come into Minneapolis, and they are in shambles.They fired the general manager.You never know what effect that has on the team itself.I don't know how much it would.Maybe you've been through something like that.
30:36What's your biggest concern as the Colts come into Minnesota and the Vikings are comingoff a by week?Yeah, I think, you know, if you lose a coach, a head coach, I've had a coach fired inthe middle of a season before, that could be galvanized, and that can bring alocker room together.You kind of put your hat behind that, and the guy that,the interim coach and say, hey, we're going to try to get this guy the job.GM's a little different feel, a little different, a little more removed from the locker room.
30:58Probably not quite as galvanizing of a situation.But at the end of the day, these guys are pros, man.The Colts are a good enough team to come in and beat you if you don't come off the by with an edge.And you look at what the, you know, Jonathan Taylor out of the backfield.To me, number one thing is you have to earn the right to Blitz, Daniel Jones.And if you can't stop the run, if you can't keep Jonathan Taylor at bay, you're not going to earn that right.And, you know, it's been an issue for us in the past.It hasn't reared its head this year with stopping the run with their interior defensive line.
31:22We've been pretty good.Knock on wood, we've been pretty healthy.And to me, that is this ballgame is you've got to be more physical coming off the by.You have to take advantage of a team that is sort of limping their way into U.S. Bank Stadium.And I think to earn the right to rush Daniel Jones and blith the heck out of him,which I think we'll do a lot.Beefflow, we'll get it going.And we're going to get after him.
31:45We're going to try to make that statue move.and we're going to try to get them down.But it's going to have to come with us running the football.And again, we all sound like coaches on this show todaybecause I'm going to say the same thing is,offensively, are you able to stay on the football field?Are you able to extend drives?Are you able to get to third down, third and short,
32:05and get over the sticks to keep your defense rested,to keep that blitz-heavy defense rested,to keep Daniel Jones on the sidelines,not let that run game from the Colts get going.I think are big factors in this game.Aaron Jones has 97 carries for 400,That's the most he's had through five games throughout his career, which I find somewhat remarkable.Because this week, the big rumor after the Colts fired Chris Ballard was that they're going to have a fire sale.
32:27Maybe Jonathan Taylor is going to land in Minnesota.Maybe they don't need them.But I think you could always use a Jonathan Taylor.Are you surprised at how well Aaron Jones has been performing this year?Yeah, you know, just look at the situation with Jordan Mason going on early.More touches go Aaron Jones's way.He's able to hold up.And he's always been, he's always said that he's that belcow.
32:45He's always stumped for himself, and he's proven it when he's gotten the ball to be really, really effective.I think back to that Bears game.The sort of got to have a drive to give us that last field goal in the ugly game of the year category.But that last field goal ended up, you know, I don't win in that football game.And that was an Aaron Jones drive.Fourth quarter, put the team on your back, get some big runs, extended in a bad field.So he's earned that right.And to me, Jordan Mason coming back is going to prove, like, do we need to go get something else to support?
33:15him down the road if we're going to make a stretch run at this thing as our schedule gets tighter.So to me, this game, you know, when you get in the situation when you're 5 and 0 and you know how goodthis division is, you have to win this football game because you know what's coming.This game is a mandatory win for the Vikings.If you lose this one, everything's up in the air because your schedule gets ridiculous.So we have the advantage.I think we have the hardest schedule on the way out in the NFL after this week.So got to get this one at home.
33:45And I'm fired up for that Lions Packers game, man.That is going to be a great football game.Cannot wait to see that thing play out and see what happens there with Detroit,trying to hold a home field there.Dave Wonset, they have a mini-buye in Chicago.You know Ben Johnson never sleeps.You wonder, from a coaching perspective, bears at five and two have to feel very goodabout getting two victories in five days against the Falcons in Atlanta
34:09and then Thursday night against the Patriots.What's the approach for Ben Johnson and his staff?I think rest, rest, rest. I really do. You know, Kalmananga, they got to get him back. I would expect that he would be back. I mean, they don't play till what the following Monday night, right? So they do have a long, it's a real nice, nice mini buy, as you called it. And then we'll get sweat back on the defensive line. You know, T.J. Edwards iskind of the leader of that defense is dealing with a hamstring.Hopefully this extra time will get him back in some capacity.So I think it's rest.And then they'll do just like TJ and the guys we're talking about,they'll do their self-scot and see what's been good, what's been bad.
35:01You know, they were second worst team, the first three games in the red zone,scoring touchdowns.And now they're, I think, five for five or something, the last five times they got down there.So they've corrected some things as they move along.But I think it's going to be a little bit of self-scot, a lot of rest, getting guys back healthy,figuring out how they're going to, who's going to take Commets plays?Is it going to be the rookie Sam Rauch?They're going to use just another wide receiver, you know, two backs a little bit.
35:32So they'll have to talk about that and figure that out.But I don't see there being anything drastic, to be quite honest with you.Dave, do you think that he throws out the,handoff to Joe Tunney, the guard play. Did you ever call play like that in your coaching career?I was at University of Miami, the Hurricanes, and we were playing in the Orange Bowl, we were playingfor the national championship, and Barry Switzer ran that. I forget what the hell they called that play.Bumble Ruski. Yeah, he just left the ball on the ground, right? And everybody took off and it was legal.He picked the ball up off the ground and ran it for about two yards.
36:12But, yeah.Yeah.All right.When we come back, parting shots and predictions on Inside the North, brought to you by five-hour energy.We'll be right back.The rumors are true.Fleetwood Mac's legendary music comes alive in this ultimate tribute.Personally endorsed by Mick Fleetwood.
36:37Rumors of Fleetwood Mac returns to Toronto.by popular demand.Experience all your favorite hits in one unforgettable night.November 3rd through 8 at the CAA Edmervish Theater.Book atmervish.com.Let's get back to more Inside the North,presented by five-hour energy.Breaking down this week's matchups in the Black and Blue Division.
37:04Welcome back to Inside the North,brought to you by five-hour energy.Now time for our predictions,and parting shots, predict any NFL game you want,and weigh in on any NFL issue you choose.It's been a very busy week.Let's start with Mason Crosby.Mason, what game you want to predict?
37:22Oh, man, hey, I was right about the Texans going over thereand, you know, taking down the Jacksonville Jaguars across the pond.So this week, I don't think I'm going to stay overseas, though.I'm looking at a game, and I'm looking at the Sunday night game.I think Seahawks are going to finally give Chiefs that first loss.You know, they're going into Seattle.Seattle is, you know, three and three.We don't quite know what they are.
37:50But I think it's time for Chiefs to finally get a loss, you know,and go into Seattle and get that thing done.The other one I'm looking at is the Raiders Rams game.And now the Rams lose to the Raiders.Like, are we putting the Rams on just complete, you know,disaster watch?like that this season could be completely lost.So I don't know, a piece of me kind of wants the Raiders to, you know,
38:15I want them to win that game so that that storyline starts going out.You know, is this Rams team just underachieving and mass proportion?So, you know, and then the storylines from this week were injuries and, you know,kind of some wild things that happened here in Tennessee with, you know,the player going to his car and, you know, threatening, you know,with potentially getting a gun.And then the Jalen Hertz situation.I am so curious to see what happens there
38:44from an NFLPA perspective.I know the NFL and the doctors and all.They've come out and said,we did everything right.Like there were no issues and all of that.But knowing J.C. Treter,playing with him, being around him for a long time,NFL, like there will be something, you know,
39:00followed up here just to just to make sure.I mean, this seems like a wildly dangerous thingto play a game with something.that you traveled overseas and probably had in that process.I mean, I don't want and I don't like oversight.I don't want them to have to test everybody all the time.Make sure that when we're traveling overseas, you have blood clots,you have all these things.
39:22Can you go and play in these games?But there has to be procedure.And I don't think that Jalen Hurts situation is over at this point.But I am excited to hear what T.J.'s bold prediction is for the weekbecause I think you even, T.J. actually like forfeited his right to give a bold prediction last week,but I think he needs to give one this week on who he thinks is going to win one of these matchups.It's right. Seguway, TJ, you're up.Can I just give a regular prediction?
39:51Like, who's the best? Less than bold prediction.Yes.You know what? All right. I'll start with bold prediction.How about the dolphins going to the Jets and finding a way to get their first win of the season?There you go.I know it's only, I think it's a three and a half, maybe four points.spread. That's a, that's a game to me that could go either way. I don't think I wouldpick either team by more than four points. So I'll go with the dolphins this week. I can't,
40:14I can't go bold prediction. Lions Packers, those are both my teams, man. I love boththose guys. So I'm going to stay away from that one. But just to touch on Mason's point aboutJalen Hertz, that was wild. It was just crazy. And like I can understand both sides of it where,you know, doctors, it's your doctors ultimately have the final say over.who can play. And they have the right to shut everything down if they want to. But I've also been inpositions where the player, you're going to go up there and do everything you possibly can to saythere's no way you're holding me out of this game. I don't care. We'll deal with it with it when weget back home. I don't know if that was a circumstance. Obviously the Eagles going into that game.
40:56That was a crucial game for them at that point of the season. Now we've seen it kind of unfold whereHey, it doesn't look like it's going to work out for them.But I don't know who to blame on that.But like Mason said, I played with J.C. Treter as well.Very smart guy running the NFLPA.They called for a full investigation.I'm sure they're going to get to the bottom of that.I just can't point a finger at any side to say who was wrong on that.
41:25They're going to figure that out.But yeah, I think it's just been a kind of wild year throughout the NFL sofar with just a lot of these games too.And one other thing I'll throw in there, Mason, you kind of pick both my games.I think the Chiefs are actually going to go into the Seattle and to the Seahawks and pull offa win.And if you look at the Seahawks dropping a game, going to three and four, you look at the Ramspotentially, you know, they might be on upset alert again with Devante Adams potentially missing
41:55a ton of time with that hamstring tear, you know, going into the Raiders.man, you could all of a sudden look at the NFC West,who everybody, I think everybody five weeks ago said,man, that's going to be a dominant conference.You can have a couple of those top teams that might be sitting on the bottom.That might give us in the NFC North a little bit of life to say,all right, we can have a little bit of breathing room.We can afford maybe a loss or two here.
42:22But I think it's still going to be another tremendous weekend of football here in the NFL.I think your bold prediction was that the NFC West is only going to have one teamrepresenting the playoffs that's yournot making bothjust regular predictions no more goalsjust regular predictions all right what do you thinkDave well I'm gonna keep it quickI'm gonna I was gonna say the dolphins I talked to
42:45Jeff Hapley the head coach about an hour agoand he said they had a great week of practiceheading up there so my last one real quickI think that Josh Jacobs comes backand rushes for over a hundred yardsI'm not a fan of that defense.T.J. at Detroit, I don't like it.I don't feel it.
43:07I think Josh Jacobs comes back.He feels guilty.What have I done?And he plays real hard and real good.I want to start off and talk about Jalen Hertz as well.And I think the long play here, right, is does this become a lawsuit or a bigger thing?I think it's potential, right?You do a full investigation.
43:25You open up the curtain of this thing.If something's mishandled or mistreated, like,Do you open up a lawsuit and go directly at the team?And what does that do for the potential of his future playing career?Like, what is a risk reward of going down that path?We've seen that happen before where you go down that pathbecause you feel like it may prevent you from making money down the roadand you sue and all of a sudden, all of a sudden your opportunities to play
43:48or your opportunities to stay in the league are different.We've seen it with coaching.We've seen it with players.Just something to track and watch is this thing progresses.It's very interesting.Obviously, you know, the NFL, when you talk about players,safety. They're changing rules. They're changing a lot of things about player safety.What are they going to do now when it's real, you know, these are, I mean, this is,
44:06this could have been life or death. Let's call it what it is. When you have a blood clot in thatsituation, it is that risky, that serious. So I'm just very curious to see how that plays out.Bold prediction. I'm looking at the schedule. Like I'm not super fired about any of this this week.I'm going to go right at the Packers and Lions. And I, I hate to pile on with the Lions, but I thinkthe Packers are playing some really, really good football right now. And to go on the road,Lions, I think this is the first division game.The divisional game, is that right?And to kind of be in that situation where this one does, this is a game and a half,
44:37this thing does mean more, especially with so many divisional games left for theLions, they haven't played one yet, you have the Packers walk into home and take care ofbusiness.It puts the Lions definitely at a deficit early on in this, you know, not early on, thirdthe way through the season.I look for Green Bay to go in and get a win.And, man, Christian Watson, I mean, there's a couple guys that you watch playfootball and be athletes in the field.
45:01That guy is as impressive of a specimen as I've seen in a while when he gets going,his ability to run and break tackles and make plays.So fun football out there.And I think my Vikings go 6 and 0.I think we figured out a way to come out of the by with an edge.They know how important this game is.They know who's chasing them.They know how good these teams have looked behind them.
45:20And they know what's coming.Come out with an edge.You go 6 and 0.You kind of hold firm knowing that you got a lot of stuff in front of you.That'll have to be the last word.We look forward to hearing next week's bold predictions as well.For Chad Greenway, T.J. Lang, Mason Crosby, and Dave Wonstead.I'm David Haw from the score in Chicago.
45:40Thank you for listening to Inside the North, brought to you by Five Outer Energy.Enjoy the games this week.We'll talk to you before week eight.
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